Morning ➛

My alarm went off at 6am. My agenda is jam packed today. Whack on some beauty balm (good to keep the wrinkles at bay), some lip balm and quickly dry my hair. Stroll across the road and present to our local Belvedere team. Conduct a comparative tasting with 10 different vodkas, all before 10am. Quick hop, skip, and a jump into a taxi to present to the USBG (United States Bartenders’ Guild) on ‘All things Rye’. A common complaint made by serious bartenders is that all vodka is tasteless and anonymous - so it’s really important to me that I demonstrate that not all vodkas are created equal.

Noon ➛

Next stop a ‘ladies who lunch’ event with 20 wonderful and successful ladies of Chicago. I walk them through how to make some very simple cocktails that taste great. Straight after the lunch we head back to the hotel for a quick recharge of my phone battery while I also take a couple of conference calls. I’m currently planning Belvedere activations at this year’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic and Tales of the Cocktail, both large scale and incredible events. Exciting plans afoot!

Night ➛

Next stop is a filming with my lovely friend Amanda Puck, host of Dish It!, and she’s chosen the awesome Tavernita as our location. I can’t wait to go back. A quick change back at the hotel and then we’re off to Bernard’s Bar for a Belvedere cocktail hour hosted by Chris LaMorte and JC Steinbrunner. The drinks and company are great and I’m sorry to say goodbye to some really interesting and amusing attendees. Back to the Wit Hotel to kick back with the Belvedere team at the roof top bar at the hotel. It is simply breathtaking. Finally, I nip back to my room to put on some flat shoes and pop out for a last minute cocktail with a friend. Eventually, I crawl back to my room and jump into bed. The party is still going on the roof, but I fall asleep singing along to the music the DJ is playing.